It’s time for another Star Wars™: Unlimited designer deck showcase! This week’s deck was provided by John Leo. Read on to see what he has in store for us today! 

Emperor Palpatine Control

Do you enjoy a deck with a plan? No one has bigger plans than the ruler of the galaxy himself, Emperor Palpatine. The idea behind a control deck is generally to survive into the late game with “removal” cards, which defeat opponents’ best attackers or make them less effective. Vanquish and Takedown are both great for this purpose, but one of the most fun cards in the deck is Entrenched. We don’t mind playing it on an opponent’s unit, because that means the opponent has to attack our units instead of the base! By the time they clear through our cheap Sentinel units like Emperor’s Royal Guard and Cloud City Wing Guard, we have played a copy or two of Resupply, and defeated a couple of Superlaser Technicians, all to feed the Emperor’s desire for resources.

By the midgame, we should be well ahead of our opponent in terms of resources and cards in hand, thanks to Emperor Palpatine’s ability to defeat friendly units to draw cards. However, our opponent will likely be ahead “on board,” as they play cheaper units in an attempt to get past our defenses. With any luck, they’ll have deployed their leader and think they have the game in hand. That’s when you hit them with a Superlaser Blast. Delete every unit from every arena. It doesn’t matter if they have Shields, it doesn’t matter if they beg for mercy. It’s time for a fresh start for the galaxy; and if you have enough resources to play Superlaser Blast, that means you also have enough resources to deploy Emperor Palpatine himself. If you’re careful, you can even line up a powerful new ally by stealing an opponent’s damaged unit with the Emperor’s When Deployed ability. Maybe there’s some merit to letting that powerful enemy unit live…just long enough for them to become your servant!

If you have survived long enough to play a Superlaser Blast, then it’s time to close out the game. Even outside of Palpatine’s unit side and any new “friends” he might have made along the way, you also have powerful finisher units to multiply your advantage. Expensive, powerful units like Count Dooku and Avenger are a great way to make sure your opponent never claws their way back into the game as you tear through their base and any smaller units that may try to get in your way.

This deck has terrific odds against any deck that tries to win in the midgame by playing powerful, on-curve units. You simply answer them one-for-one until you reach eight resources, then deploy Palpatine and make their best unit your own! A control “mirror match” with this deck can be trickier, as it is sure to test your skill as both players maneuver for the endgame in a battle of wits.

This deck may have a hard time defeating aggressive decks that play a swarm of spaceships; Green Squadron A-Wing may be a particular thorn in your side. This is where your cards like Entrenched are going to be handy, since a powerful, Entrenched A-wing won’t have much to do with its beefy stats! You’ll also rely on key cards like Overwhelming Barrage, which can take out enemy units across arenas. (It’s fun to imagine a Viper Probe Droid lasering X-wings out of the sky.)

This deck is for players who love to play defensively, strategically, biding their time, then unleash a devastating reversal in the late game with the full might of the Empire!

More Designer Decks to Come

Tune in next week for another deck provided by the Star Wars: Unlimited designers! What new strategies will they unveil? We hope to see you all then!